The Panic Room
by angelalias
Summary: One room. One night. A chain of events that will change and reshape the future...for better or worse...*sequel to Only Time*


Title: The Panic Room (Continuation/sequel to "Only Time")  
  
Author: Andrea [email]denis.hebert5@simpatico.ca[/email]  
  
Rating: I'll go with R. violence, sexual situations and possibly language (though my sexual situations are never as good or explicit as some…I'm not that good with those LOL)  
  
Spoilers: None that I can think of…  
  
NOTE: This takes place a year after the confrontation in the rain, in "Only Time", where Angel let the PTBs take Connor to safety and Cordy said goodbye to Alessia…as the history was being re-written. This is about what happened between that night in the rain and Cordy giving birth to Alessia in 2006. [b]No need to have read Only Time to be able to read this one[/b] All references to previous things will be explained…I think. (  
  
Disclaimer: Characters unfortunately do not belong to me…and the title is borrowed from David Fincher and whatever production house produced the movie with the same title LOL  
  
Summary: One night. One purpose. One room. It's the perfect plan. It's a plan that will change several lives and reshape an entire future…*A/C and Btvs Crossovers*  
  
  
  
--  
  
[b]The Panic Room[/b] – (Sequel/Continuation of Only Time)  
  
CHAPTER 1 – Secrets  
  
2025 – LA.  
  
Silence.  
  
The entire, unfamiliar room bathed in silence. A silence that had been drawn years ago. A silence that cursed this room with its secrets and silent cries.  
  
The room wasn't small, nor large. It didn't have a size. When you stepped inside, the size was the last thing on your mind. One of the four walls was made entirely of glass, as if whatever had once occupied the room had been an exhibit of some kind.  
  
Scattered across the floor were boxes filled with files, pictures, hand- written reports, and videotapes… The dust had settled on them over the years. In one of the corners lied several broken – smashed – video cameras. They were surrounded by books and a pile of chains. Closer to the back wall, there was a small bed on which slept the limbs of sheets and blankets. Simple shreds, as though someone had ripped them off in a fit of rage. Tossed in the mix were pillows that had lost their original comfortable shapes.  
  
And then blood.  
  
All over the remains of the sheets. All over the floor.  
  
Standing in the middle of the room, Connor and Alessia stared at the area they had been shielded from their whole lives. The room that held secrets and painful revelations that Angel and Cordelia had never been able to divulge.  
  
Until now.  
  
Connor looked like a young version of his father, with broad shoulders but lighter hair, while Alessia had turned out very similar to the one who had visited Cordelia and Angel years ago. Her hair was longer though and without the highlights. But both young people had that street-wise attitude, that look of determination. Connor had his father's eyes and Alessia had her mother's facial expressions.  
  
Their eyes went immediately to the dried blood, in which bathed a big half- burned black candle. A candle lit and blown years ago…years which Connor and Alessia had never heard of until recently.  
  
Outside of the room, unable to step inside for numerous reasons, Buffy and Faith stared at the two young people. A look of dread and regret haunted their older features.  
  
"I got a really bad feeling about this B…" Faith said, shaking her head and crossing her arms over her chest, as if protecting herself from the past.  
  
"I know," Buffy sighed, never taking her eyes off of a 19-year-old Alessia and her brother. "But they needed to know. Once and for all, they needed to know the truth about what happened here. They wanted to tell them…" she continued, silently sharing Faith's doubts.  
  
"I know but…"  
  
There was a short pause between the two Slayers.  
  
"They need to understand…they deserve at least that." Buffy whispered, flashes of blood spilling on the floor blinding her for a second. "They need to understand why we all did what we did…and why this is happening to her…"  
  
"We told them…the whole story…well, alright, skipped over some gory details, but we told them. Heck, C spent hours reliving the nightmare so that Ally would understand…" Faith sighed again, shaking her head silently.  
  
"Yes, but they need this. They need to see it to fully understand." Buffy finally spoke again. "If we don't show them the truth, THEY will…" she said pointing to the heavens as her voice trailed off.  
  
Inside the room, Connor bent down on one knee and picked up the bloody candle from the ground. A chill ran down his spine immediately. He looked at his sister, who was carefully opening one of the boxes.  
  
Their entire lives they had wondered. About the scar on their mother's back, the special inexplicable bond between Faith, Cordy and Buffy, the seemingly mourning period that always befell their household at the end of ever summer. The way their father, Angel, seemed to carry that apology in his eyes during that time, while their mother, Cordelia, always seemed to silently soothe his guilt. They had always wondered how sworn enemies like Cordy, Buffy and Faith had become the three Musketeers. Their mom had always joked and made up silly stories about how that had happened, but they knew better. Even at an early age, when they could sense their inquires were being avoided, they knew something had happened. Something none of them spoke about.  
  
The mere mention of Wolfram and Hart sent Angel and Cordy into overprotective mode over their two children. Whenever an argument arose between Cordy and Angel, Buffy and Faith sided with their mother. Them, who had one point in their lives had been the ones to argue with the seer on anything and everything.  
  
They had always been shielded from the truth…the truth about what was happening now. Why this was happening to Alessia. But they knew now.  
  
They knew why the Powers had always taken a special interest in Cordelia…and Alessia. They knew why Angel's soul had been permanent before his Shanshu. They knew…why they had never been told the truth.  
  
Alessia took a file in her hands and wiped the dust away from it, only to reveal the Wolfram and Hart logo. She opened it and saw four pictures on the first page.  
  
Angel, Cordy, Buffy and Faith. Underneath that, a date was written in bold letter…  
  
--  
  
[b]August 23, 2003[/b]  
  
Cordelia's giggling voice was heard through her apartment. It came from the bedroom.  
  
"Angel…" she said with a raised eyebrow as the two of them lay on her bed, fully clothed.  
  
Angel's hands travelled over her hips and slowly lifted Cordelia's dark- blue t-shirt slightly enough to reveal her mid-riff. He proceeded to kiss her stomach once, slowly…then twice…and a third time until Cordy lifted herself up on her elbows and looked at him with a grin on her face.  
  
"What are you doing?" she laughed as he ceased kissing her belly and moved to her lips.  
  
"If you have to ask then we really need to have a talk young lady…" he teased, plopping down besides her, nibbling on her ear playfully.  
  
It had been a year.  
  
One full year had passed since that fateful night in the rain. It had been a year filled with ups and downs but, in retrospect, filled with more strength then weaknesses. They lived for the day Connor would return and dreamed of the day Alessia would be born.  
  
It had been a long year, but one in which they had found the greatest thing of all. Love. Through it all, they had one another, and for that, they were thankful. Their love seemed to grow naturally with each passing day. Wesley had been vehemently researching Angel's little curse matter, in vain thus far, but that didn't stop Cordy and Angel from doing some creative exploring of their own.  
  
They made love "their way", as they called it. They knew what they could and could not do, and with that created something of their own. Their own ways of making love without actually having sex. The first time Faith had heard of it, after returning from prison, she'd exclaimed in the middle of a crowded street "What?! Sex without intercourse?! Are you nuts??" Cordelia had just laughed, from embarrassment at the passing stranger's looks and from amusement at Faith's lack of ability to understand what she and Angel had. For now, that was enough. It was their own secret world. Their own silent understanding, in which they found comfort. The level of comfort between them was, in fact, one of the things that allowed them to be so completely trusting of the other in that particular situation.  
  
Cordelia made it very clear that, even though frustrating at times for the both of them, she was satisfied with what they had. Sure, she prayed for the day that damn curse was out of the way…and sure, the slope was slippery. And she silently thanked God for Dennis. He had a way of snapping them out of it sometimes…  
  
"You're shivering…" Angel mumbled between kisses.  
  
"Could it be your very cold hand underneath my shirt, mister?" she grinned with a glimpse of amusement. "Angel…" she breathed as he kissed her neck and the crook of her shoulder.  
  
"Shh…I'm busy…"  
  
Cordy burst out laughing and he couldn't help a small chuckle.  
  
"Is that what you call it now?"  
  
"I'm extremely busy…kissing you…" he continued, repressing a smile.  
  
"Uh huh…what else?" she decided to play his little game of verbal teasing.  
  
"Tasting you…" he added, his lips tracing a line of fire on her collarbone. "Making your skin warm…"  
  
"Burning…uh huh…I can confirm that…" she whispered, enjoying this little, albeit ill-timed interlude.  
  
"…making your pulse pump faster…" his tongue tasted the sweet taste of her neck.  
  
"Pump…now there's an interesting word…" she breathed in his ear, repressing an amused smirk.  
  
"…Making your heart race faster…"  
  
"Racing heart…yep…got that…" she breathlessly replied, her hands running through his hair as she closed her eyes.  
  
"Taking your breath away…" He was nibbling on her ear once again.  
  
Cordelia let out a soft chuckle as his lips went back to hers.  
  
"Yep…got that too…damn human attributes…" she sarcastically said, out of breath, between kisses.  
  
"Touching you…" he grinned, kissing the rest of her face while his hands slid higher underneath her t-shirt.  
  
"Touching's good. Yep…touching's very good…" she smiled at the verbal – and physical – game they were playing here. "And please do not let what I'm about to say distract you from your current occupations…but they should be calling in about two minutes…" she spoke between kisses.  
  
Angel pulled back a little and sighed, before smiling. They were lying down, each on their sides, facing one another on Cordelia's big bed.  
  
"You never did tell me why you invited all of them in the first place…" he asked in a tender murmur.  
  
"It's your birthday big guy…or at least, it's the party we would have had on your birthday if not for another one of those nasty, slimy demons of the week…they sure pop out of everywhere huh?" she said in one long breath.  
  
"Cordelia…"  
  
There was a long silence between the two of them and Cordy lowered her eyes for a moment.  
  
"I saw them Angel…" she whispered in a calm but low voice that unveiled her emotions. "In that future that Alessia showed us…they were there. In her memories, she showed me there was a chance that one day, maybe, we wouldn't be at each other's throats…all of them…they were part of our lives and I just thought…you know…"  
  
"I know…" he whispered back, leaning in to rest his forehead against hers.  
  
Cordy looked into his eyes and smiled sadly. The mention of Alessia had that pausing effect on them both. Same with Connor.  
  
"Do you regret sending him away?" she asked.  
  
"I know he's safe…I can't regret that…" he whispered and then paused. "Do you regret letting her go…?" he added, tenderness filling his voice.  
  
"I regret her not seeing this…" Cordy admitted with a sigh. "Well, not [I]this[/I] specifically of course…" she smiled. "But just…this…this future."  
  
They laid like that in silence until Cordelia got up and jumped from the bed in a lighter mood. She dragged him along with her.  
  
"Come on!" she laughed, pulling on his arm. "We're meeting the Scoobies at Caritas in half an hour…up, up, up!"  
  
Angel followed her lead, holding her hand as they walked towards the door that led to her living room.  
  
"And remember, act surprised." She said, pointing her finger at him.  
  
"They should know I hate surprises…" Angel mumbled.  
  
"AH! They should know I can't keep a secret…" Cordy countered with amazement filling her voice, and Angel followed her out of the room with a chuckle.  
  
--  
  
Angel and Cordelia were riding in Angel's car that night, heading to the newly re-built Caritas. Angel glanced at Cordelia, imagining the reactions of the gang at seeing her. Little make-up, hair pulled up with those hair thingies Angel never remembered what they were called…wearing jeans, t- shirt and a jacket that accentuated her natural beauty. 'We're not going to a ball, it's Caritas…' she had said on her way out. 'Beside, I wouldn't fit with your dark Avenger look with anything on so it's useless…' God he loved her.  
  
"Nervous?" Angel asked her.  
  
"Nah…it's not like they like me, or I them…yet…I'm willing to work on it…you know after seeing the future and all…" she rambled on, thinking out loud. "It's not like I invited them to force them to make amends…they don't know what we saw with Alessia…it's not like I'm going to do anything crazy or that I expect…" then her voice was cut off and she stiffened and gasped.  
  
"What?!" Angel asked, glancing back and forth between the road and her.  
  
"Oh my God!" she gasped as the vision hit her.  
  
Images of Lilah and Galvin holding a one-year-old Connor flashed through her mind. A crying Connor.  
  
"Turn around! Turn around!" she urged him, catching her breath.  
  
"Why? What did you see?!" he asked with concern immediately.  
  
"They have Connor…oh God…Turn around!" she said as he obeyed, alarmed at the mere mention of Connor.  
  
How was it possible? Connor was guarded by the Powers That Be…yet she had seen it in her vision. Wolfram and Hart had him. The car quickly turned around and disappeared into the night.  
  
--  
  
2025  
  
Buffy and Faith watched from the exterior of the room as Connor and Alessia sat on the floor, reading the detailed play by play files from Wolfram and Hart.  
  
Buffy closed her eyes and Faith held her breath.  
  
"They should never have turned around…" Faith whispered to herself, lowering her eyes as she remembered the events of that night.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED… 


End file.
